Kitten Storms
by Daelena
Summary: During a thunderstorm, Ianto finds a new pet for the family. Twenty-eight in the "Immortal Janto" series. Ianto/Jack.


Kitten Storms

_Disclaimer__: I wish I could say that I owned, but sadly, I cannot. I don't own anything._

_Summary__: During a thunderstorm, Ianto finds a new pet for the family. Twenty-eight in the "Immortal Janto" series. Ianto/Jack._

_This jumps up a few years. Annabelle is now eight._

_Just a cute little piece that popped into my head. Be warned, it is fluffy and with "awwww" moments. _

He gritted his teeth at the down-pour. A streak of lightening flashed through the sky, followed by a deafening roll of thunder, mere moments later. Ianto silently cursed himself for not bringing an umbrella with him to work.

It was just one of those days.

Pulling his coat a little closer to him, Ianto took a deep breath and stepped out into the torrential storm. Quickly, he began the route that would take him to his car (and dry cover).

For a moment, he cursed being called in for an emergency U.N.I.T. meeting that day. It was his damn own fault for forgetting to check the weather report to see if it was going to rain. He should have figured that, by the looming clouds overhead when he left the house, there was going to be mad storms, but he had assumed that he would miss the worst of it.

Still, there was the promise of a nice warm dinner when he got home. It was Jack's turn to cook and he had made chili.

Jack had taken the afternoon off and had been there when Annabelle had gotten home from school. Ianto smiled. They were able to work their schedules that, on most days, one of them was at the house when school let out. On the days when they both were wrapped up in their work, Donna or the Doctor were usually around. The TARDIS was an excellent baby-sitter, especially when the Doctor was being extremely scatter-brained or Donna had to juggle several things at the same time (usually cleaning up after the Doctor's insanity).

Ianto picked up his pace a bit, knowing that it was utterly useless for him to stay dry at this point. He was drenched.

_Not much further now_, he thought, seeing the car-park ahead.

But, despite the rain and the promise of home, Ianto stopped.

He tilted his head and strained to be sure if what he had heard was right. A moment later, he heard the soft noise again. Ianto swiveled his head around, eyes searching for the source. Finally, he saw it and hissed a bit.

A small kitten ungainly splashed in a puddle, clearly lost and clearly without a home.

His heart tugged at the sight and he immediately bent down to scoop up the small thing. It shook as he cradled it close to his chest, trying to shield it from the worst of the rain. Ianto ran the rest of the way to his car, quickly unlocking it and sliding into the driver seat, tossing his briefcase into the passenger seat.

The kitten mewed pitifully, looking up at Ianto with sad green eyes.

"Poor little thing," Ianto cooed.

He dug into the glove compartment and smiled victoriously when he came up with a dish towel that Jack must have stuck in there a while back. Ianto quickly wrapped it around the kitten, drying it off.

The kitten, a female by the looks of it, was a tortoiseshell. She was a pretty kitten, no doubt, though clearly unhappy about being caught in the rain. She was skinny and small, a stray, if Ianto had to guess. Where her mother was, he couldn't say, but it looked as if she hadn't eaten in a while.

As he dried her off, Ianto started the car and turned the heat up. The kitten calmed down enough to nestle into his lap, curling up into a ball inside the towel. He smiled a bit.

"You're coming home with me, little girl," he said, definitively.

The kitten mewed happily at him, giving him a wide-eyed and knowing look.

Ianto chuckled a bit and clicked his seatbelt into place. Keeping a hand firmly on the animal in his lap, he carefully guided the car out of the lot and onto the street.

It took him longer than usual to navigate his way home, through the storm. Finally, he pulled up in front of the house. Ianto groaned. The storm hadn't lightened up one bit and he had managed to dry off (for the most part).

After turning off the car and unbolting his seatbelt, Ianto gathered up the kitten, holding her under his coat, as he grabbed his briefcase. Steeling himself, he got out of the car and, locking it automatically, hurried into the house.

Jack must have seen his headlights because he was at the front door, opening it for Ianto.

Annabelle was there as well, the eight-year-old girl launching herself at him. Ianto wrapped dropped his briefcase and wrapped his arm around her in a tight hug.

"Hello, Annabelle," he said.

"I was worried about you, Tad," she replied.

Ianto smiled and kissed the top of her head. "No worries now, my girl. Besides, I brought something home with me."

"Really?" Jack asked as he kissed Ianto on the cheek. "Do tell."

The innuendo in Jack's voice was carefully veiled, as such innuendos were, when they were around Annabelle or the twins, but Ianto caught it. He rolled his eyes in exasperation at his husband as he withdrew his hand from his coat.

Annabelle gasped in delight at the sight of the kitten.

"A kitten, Tad? Where did you find it?"

"She was wondering around and I saw her on my way home." Ianto looked at Jack briefly and saw the flash of emotions in his eyes. "I hope you don't mind if you get a pet, Annabelle."

His daughter squealed in delight as she carefully took the kitten from him. Annabelle cradled the animal, who, with that indefinable instinct that all animals have, snuggled close to her, knowing that she was home. Ianto smiled. They were a good fit. Annabelle, though only eight, seemed to have the maturity beyond her years to understand the significance of the pet.

Ianto felt Jack take his hand and squeeze it.

"Can we keep her?" Annabelle asked, looking up at her two fathers.

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Ianto looked at Jack again. A brilliant smile split across Jack's face.

"Of course, little girl!" Jack said, enthusiastically. "A pet is just what this family was missing."

Annabelle grinned. "Does she have a name?"

"Not yet, but you can name her if you like."

Ianto watched as his daughter bounced happily into the living room, where she sat on the floor. The kitten toddled off of her lap, cautiously exploring her new environment.

Jack slipped a hand over Ianto's cheek, cupping it and tilting it towards his face. He leaned in and gently kissed Ianto.

"So you really did find a kitten on the way home."

"Yeah. It's a rash decision, but Annabelle's at that age where a pet is a good idea."

The American immortal smiled. "We'll get all of the supplies for the kitten tomorrow, while Annabelle's at school."

"I think we're going to need to feed the kitten as soon as possible. She looks hungry."

Jack nodded. Both looked at Annabelle, who was gently petting the kitten. Ianto smiled as the kitten rolled onto her back, her little paws batting at Annabelle's teasing fingers. A pet was a big responsibility, but Ianto knew that they could handle it.

And so, that's how the Harkness-Jones family got a kitten, who was shortly named Thetis, after the Greek sea nymph.

_So, what did you think? Cute? Let me know! _

_I'll do my best to get another story up ASAP._


End file.
